One-sided separable fastener having means resisting forcible mismeshing



Sept. 24, 1963 L. H, MORIN l 3,104,437

ONE-SIDED SEPARABLE FASTENER HAVING MEANS RESISTING FORCIBLE MISMESHING Filed April 21, 1961 INVENTOR. Lou/s /vf /V/'oR/N HTTORA/EY Unted States Patent O GNR-SIDED SEPARABLE FASTENER HAV- ING MEANS RESISTING FORCIBLE MIS- NESHING Louis H. Morin, Bronx, N.Y. (125 Beechwood Ave., New Rochelle, NX.) Filed Apr. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 104,737 4 Claims. (Cl. 24E-205.1)

This invention relates to separable fastener stringers, wherein the scoops are fixed to one surface only of the Stringer tapes, producing what I term a one-sided fastener, wherein scoops of coupled stringers become invisible when viewing the fastener from the Iother surface of the coupled strin-gers. More particularly, the invention deals with a separable fastener of the character described, wherein the scoops are also attached to a bead or other element having an extension with respect to the surface ofthe stringer tape greater than 4one-half of the extension of the scoops wit-h respect to said surface, thus producing means limiting or checking movement of adjacent scoops fone with respect to the other in the folding of coupled stringers, thereby preventing mismeshing of the coupled stringers.

Further, the invention deals in a scoop structure, wherein the lower forward surface of each scoop extends to a point below the surface o-f the tape, to which the scoop is xed.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with a scoop structure, wherein said lower surface beyond the tape edge is bevelled or tapered upwardly to facilitate free passage of the scoop over the edge portion of the tape of a companion Stringer in coupling the strin-gers together.

rThe novel features of the invention will be best nnderstood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, rthe separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a :diagrammatic enlarged plan view of a small portion of two Stringer tapes illustrating the scoops in coupled engagement with each other, no attempt being made to illustrate the exact contour of the surfaces of the scoops.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section through one ofthe scoops and Stringer and diagrammatically illustrating a partial sectional portion of a slider employed in coupling the stringers, the section FIG. 2 being either on the line 2 2 of FIG. l =or 2A-2A of FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view substantially on the line 3 3 of FIG. '1, illustratin-g the folding of coupled stringers and means checking forcible mismeshing; and

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. l, showing a modified form :of scoop, particularly in the plan contour of the interenga-ging coupling end portions of the scoops.

In illustrating one adaptation of Imy invention, -I have shown in FIGS. il, 2 and 3 of the drawing one form of scoop and Stringer construction and, as each Stringer is of the same construction, like references will be used to designate like parts. 10, -10 shows the Stringer tapes, to one surface 11, 11 of which is suitably fixed a bead 12, 1?. which, for purposes of this description, may be characterized as a mismeshing resistant element. As known in the art, the bead or element 12, 12 may be woven with the tape 10, or may be stitched or otherwise secured thereto.

The free edge of the tape is indicated at 13, '13 and these free edges abut when the stringers are coupled together, as will be apparent from the illustration in FIG. 1 of the drawing. At 14, 14' are illustrated the thin wall ice scoops on each of the stringers suitably fixed to the surfaces 11, 11 and the `elements 12, 12 thereon. As and when molded or die cast scoops are employed, this attachment is accomplished by extension of the material of the scoops into the interstices of the braid of the tapes 10, 10 or the elements 12, 12.

It will be quite apparent from a consideration of FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing that the major portion off each of the scoops 14, 14 is disposed upon the surfaces 11, 11 of the tapes and Ilthe substantially diamond-shaped or other coupling heads 15, |15 alone protrude beyond the edges 13, 13 of the tapes to overlie the downwardly inclined surfaces, 16', 16, respectively, of companion stringers. These downwardly inclined surfaces are formed by extending the lower surface of each :of the scoops downwardly below the surface yof the tape to lwhich the scoop is attached and, to illustrate this downward extension, Ithe lowered point 17 of the scoop 14 is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, it being understood that the scoop 14 is similarly formed. This lower extension 17 is positioned substantially at the tape edge 13 and, beyond this lower point, the head 15 of the coupling end of Ithe scoop has a lower upwardly tapered or inclined surface 18. This upwardly inclined surface will Kfacilitate passage of the head 15 over the downwardly inclined portion |16 of the tape 10', as well as to facilitate the passage of the head 15 over lthe sunface 16 of the tape 10 in coupling the stringers together.

The coupling end portion of the scoops includes the female neck portions 19, 19 engaged by the heads 15', 15, respectively, as with other fasteners of this general type and kind. The neck' portions 19 and 19" will be described herein as the thin-wall portion of the scoop. This portion is the smallest dimension ofthe scoop as the scoop is viewed in plane, for instance, in FIG. 1, and the dimension characterized asthin wall is measured longitudinally of the stringers.

At this time, attention is Ydirectedrto the showing in FIG. 4 of the drawing, wherein Stringer tapes 20, 20 are employed, similar in all respects to the tapes 10, 10' and including the beads or elements 21, 21', similar in all respects to the beads 12, l2. Substituted forthe scoops 114, 14 are scoops 22,. 2.2 which, insofar as the lower surface structure of the scoops are concerned, will be identical to the structure shown in FIGS. 1, 2 yand 3 and, from this standpoint, the section on the line ZAfZA will be exactly the same as the section on the line 2 2 of FIG. l. The only dierenee in the scoop structure sho-wn in FIG. 4 is inthe shaperorr contour 0f the coupling end portion, namely the heads 23, 23' and the sockets 24 and 24. The coupling end portions may be said to comprise interengaging hook-shaped members. In other words, these coupling end portions include protruding rounded portions 25, 25' which conform in contour with the sockets 24', 24, as will clearly lappear in FIG. 4 of the drawing, in establishing the coupling engagement of scoops of the two stringers in preventing transverse separation. With stringers of the type shown in FIG. 4, it will be apparent that lefthand and righthand stringers are required and, in this respect, contrasting to the structure shown in FIG. l, wherein both stringers are of identical construction.

Considering now the diagrammatic showing of FIG. 3 of the drawing, in this figure, the coupled stringers are shown bent or folded or, in other words, moved in a direction to bring the lower surfaces of the tapes toward each other, that is to say, the surfaces opposed to the surfaces to which the scoops are attached and, vwhen the coupled stringers are so folded in an attempt to forcibly mismesh the coupled stringers, the bead or element, as, for example, the element 12 in FIG. 3, between adjacent surfaces 2d of the scoops 14' is stretched or ten- 4sioned, as diagrammatically indicated by the straight upper surface 27 of the element between the surfaces 26 in said gure. Thus the element forms what might be termed a strut, checking further lseparation of the scoops 14 or spreading of the surfaces 26. This is made possible by virtue of the upward extension of the element 12 to a point greater than one-half the full height of the scoops 14', the term height being here used in consideration of FIG. 3 of the drawing and with respect to the extension from the surface 11' of the tape 10'. It will, of course, be understood that a similar action takes place between the scoops 14 of the companion Stringer 10.

In the aforesaid folding action, the lower corners of the heads of the `adjacent scoops 14' are urged inwardly into rm engagement with the corresponding lower portions of the recessed or female portions of the coupling ends of the scoops, as diagrammatically illustrated at 28 :in FIG. 3 of the drawing. It will be understood that 2S is in alinernent with the lower point or extension 17, in other words, at a point below the upper surface of the tapes 1i), 1d. This will clearly appear from the illustration in FIG. 3 of the drawing. This operation develops what might be termed a compression bulge in the tape between adjacent scoops and this bulge is diagrammaticaliy illustrated at 29 in FiG. 3 of the drawing. It will be understood that the engagement established, as at 28, also operates to check forcible mismeshing of the scoops. It will be apparent that folding of the tape in the direction reverse to that illustrated in FIG. 3 will bring the heads in snug engagement with the walls of the female coupling portion of the scoops in checking bending movement or folding of the coupled stringers, as is common with other types of separable fasteners of this kind.

The downwardly inclined surfaces 16, 16 of the scoops extend the edge portions 13, 131p downwardly or in an offset manner with respect to the normal plan of the tapes 10, 10 and this offset portion of the tapes is designated by the reference characters 30, 30 in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the dnawing.

lIn FIG. 2 of the drawing, I have shown at 31 in section `a pant of one side portion of a slider used in coupling stringere of the type and kind shown in FIGS-1 and 4 of the drawing. For purposes of description, 32 can be said to define the inner wall of the slider and 33 the outer wall, these walls being joined at the normal wide end portion of the slider in a web or frog 34, `the wall 32 having, at its sides, flanges 3S, part of one side flange only being illustrated in FIG. 2.

The distinctive feature in the slider 31 resides in providing on the web 34, adjacent the wall 33, an inwardly projecting shoulder portion 36, having an inclined wall 37 i adapted to `abut the wall 18 and to conne the scoop be? tween the wall 37 and the inner surface 38 of the inner wall of .fthe slider. For clarity in the drawing, clearance Y is shown between 18 .and 37 but, -in actual practice, these surfaces will abut and, in this action, it will appear that the wall 33 is maintained in spaced relation to the tape A 10, thereby preventing wear of the slider on the tape in operating along the stringers. It will also appear that the shoulder 36 clears the outer surface 13 of the tape 10.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters VPatent is:

1. A separable fastener Stringer comprising a mounting tape having a bead projecting from one surface thereof adjacent but spaced from an edge of said tape, a pluralityk of scoops spaced longitudinally of and fixed to said surface of the tape and embracing said bead, each of said scoops comprising a mounting end pontion and a thin'wall portion having an outer coupling end portion, including a coupling head projecting beyond said edge of the tape, no part of said scoops projecting beyond the opposite surface of said tape, the projection of said bead beyond said Surface of the tape being greater than one-half the thickness of said thin wall portion and wherein the thinV wall por-tion of each scoop includes a part projecting below the surface of the tape which carries the mounting end portion of said .scoop and serves to otset the edge of the tape in a directionY opposite to the direction in whichr the scoop projects from said tape. f

2. A separable fastener Stringer as dened in claim 1,

wherein the head end of the scoop has an incline-d surface extending outwardly from said part.

3. A separable fastener Stringer as dened in claim 2, wherein said inclined surface of the scoop is adapted to overlie the edge portion of the tape of a companion Stringer.

4. A separable fastener Stringer as dened in claim 2, wherein a slider employed for coupling scoops of a pair of stringers includes a shoulder portion engaging said inclined surface in restricting the scoop between said inclined surface and a wall of the slider.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,077,350 Sundback Apr. 13, 1937 2,095,453 Silberman Oct. 12, 1937 2,171,335 Gross Aug. 29, 1939 2,174,892 Poux Oct. 3, 1939 2,283,018 Seltzer May 12, 1942 2,325,332 Marinsky July 27, 1943 2,440,086 Graboi Apr. 20, 1948 2,888,727 Heimberger June 2, 1959 2,959,833 Ryser Nov. 15, 1960 

1. A SEPARABLE FASTENER STRINGER COMPRISING A MOUNTING TAPE HAVING A BEAD PROJECTING FROM ONE SURFACE THEREOF ADJACENT BUT SPACED FROM AN EDGE OF SAID TAPE, A PLURALITY OF SCOOPS SPACED LONGITUDINALLY OF AND FIXED TO SAID SURFACE OF THE TAPE AND EMBRACING SAID BEAD, EACH OF SAID SCOOPS COMPRISING A MOUNTING END PORTION AND A THIN WALL PORTION HAVING AN OUTER COUPLING END PORTION, INCLUDING A COUPLING HEAD PROJECTING BEYOND SAID EDGE OF THE TAPE, NO PART OF SAID SCOOPS PROJECTING BEYOND THE OPPOSITE SURFACE OF SAID TAPE, THE PROJECTION OF SAID BEAD BEYOND SAID SURFACE OF THE TAPE BEING GREATER THAN ONE-HALF THE THICKNESS OF SAID THIN WALL PORTION AND WHEREIN THE THIN WALL PORTION OF EACH SCOOP INCLUDES A PART PROJECTING BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE TAPE WHICH CARRIES THE MOUNTING END PORTION OF SAID SCOOP AND SERVES TO OFFSET THE EDGE OF THE TAPE IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE SCOOP PROJECTS FROM SAID TAPE. 